The Lions Share
by SaritaMalfoy22
Summary: Draco’s Cousin Leo comes to stay and attracts the attention of a certain Gryffindor girl.
1. Cousin Leo

**Author Notes: **I may not finish this for some time as I have a lot of coursework, and my other stories need finishing, but I won't keep you waiting too long!

I own nothing and nobody but Leo, who is mine, mine, mine!

**Summary: **Draco's' Cousin Leo comes to stay and attracts the attention of a certain Gryffindor girl.

**Ships:** Draco/Hermione, Hermione/Leo.

**Rating: **T for language, suggestive adult themes and some violence.

**Chapter 1 – Cousin Leo.**

"Dracoooo! Draaaaaaaaaco! DRACO!" Narcissa Malfoy shouted up the stairs to her only son. He had, to her knowledge, still not woken up and his cousin Leo was coming to stay soon. However, Draco Malfoy was very much awake, and deep in thought.

Draco was 17 and he and his entire year had been forced to re-take the seventh year, which most has missed due to Voldemort wreaking havoc on the wizarding world. Draco himself had been quite glad to go back so to avoid his family, who had become the most affectionate he had ever seen them. Since the evil wizard had been destroyed at the hand of Harry Potter (whom he now got on well with) Lucius had been acted very humble, and apologizing at every given opportunity for dragging his family into the war, which was quite un-nerving for Draco.

Narcissa however had forced them to turn their lives around. They were no longer waited on hand and foot by house elves, as his mother had joined a campaign group started up by a young witch in Gryffindor, who she described as " delightful and strikingly pretty" and even; "Perfect wife material for some lucky lad"

Also, the mansion they lived in was no longer the gothic and dismal place it used to be as Narcissa had decorated it, colouring the rooms' baby blue, lilac or pink, which Draco was secretly satisfied with.

"DRACO MALFOY!" his mother shouted again, making him jump out of his thoughts. Draco washed, shaved and changed, arriving downstairs in a neat 10 minutes. Narcissa stood with arms folded.

"You are such a pest sometimes Draco, why didn't you come when I called?!" She asked, not feeling as annoyed as she sounded.

"Sorry mum I got sidetracked." He answered honestly. She uncrossed her arms and led him through to the conservatory where toast was waiting on the table.

The room was huge, with white marble floors and columns and floor-to-ceiling white windows which showed off the vast 150 acre garden. He sat down at the table and tucked into a piece of toast while his mother hovered by one of the windows, anxiously looking out every few minutes for her sister in law and her son.

Draco stared without seeing at the albino peacocks in the garden and thought back to the time that his mother had informed him of his cousins' year-long stay with them…

"_Draco, sit down we have something to tell you" his father had started. They sat opposite him on the very table he was munching his toast on and looked at him with wide wary eyes. His mother was wringing her hands._

"_You remember your cousin Leo? He's the same age as you, a bit taller of course..." His mother said nervously._

_Draco remembered him perfectly. He had got jet black hair and the most deep blue eyes he had ever seen. Draco was immediately jealous of Leos' tanned skin and dazzling white smile. Girls would whistle at Leo when they walked down the street and Leo, being shy and quiet had blushed, making his eyes look even nicer to girls._

"_Yes, I remember him." Draco had replied through gritted teeth. His mother had flinched at his burning eyes. Family failing, it seemed, made him and his mother both look a lot angrier than they were. However, Draco did not like where this was heading._

"_Well, you remember when they moved out to Italy when he was about fifteen?" She continued._

"_Yeah" _

"_Well, his school doesn't repeat the seventh year, but since he missed so much of it - our whole family going into hiding and such, we thought it would be a good idea if he came and stayed with us for the year, so he could catch up with his work." She finished, her hands wringing and her arms shaking. Draco's mind reeled. _

"_What do you think sweetheart?" His mother had asked quietly, looking anxiously at her husband._

"Draco, snap out of it! They're coming!" His mother exclaimed, waking him from his thoughts. Draco stood up and smoothed his clothes, following his mother to the fireplace where green flames were raising higher and higher. They slowly crept higher, and eventually he saw his aunt spin into view. They slowed down and stepped out of the fire.

His aunt shook her black curled hair out of her face and stepped forward to hug Narcissa.

"It's been so long darling" Narcissas' sister-in-law said releasing her and placing a kiss on each cheek.

She stopped and her piercing but attractive grey eyes found Draco.

"Oh my dear, you're all grown up!" She said pulling Draco into a bone crushing hug. He smelt Italian perfume before she held him at arms length and looked at him with watering eyes.

"My dear Amber, where is Leo?" Narcisssa asked beaming at her sister in law.

"Oh, he's on his way, he didn't need me to accompany him I just couldn't pass up the chance to see you all!" She smiled.

Draco seemed to have forgotten how sweet and happy his aunt was and his heart warmed to see someone so cheerful after the terrible war.

Suddenly, dampening his happy mood slightly he saw the green flames licking the fireplace and he stepped back whilst the two witches walked into the conservatory, deep in ecstatic conversation.

He saw his cousin spinning into view and a second later Leo stepped out of the fireplace. Draco forced a smile and Leo returned a nervous yet dazzling smile. Draco drank in his appearance and guessed Leo was doing the same.

He was without a doubt the most attractive guy Draco had ever seen in his life. His messy jet black hair reminded him of Harry Potter but it was his intense blue eyes that everyone was drawn to. He had thick black eyelashes which made his eyes stand out more. They seemed to sparkle and Draco gritted his teeth.

"_Why can't I look like that?!" _He thought angrily. He noticed his cousin was about three inches taller than himself and he felt even more jealous.

"Um, Hi Draco..." The boy started holding a tanned hand out nervously. Draco stared at him for a few seconds more before realising how rude he was being. He stretched his pale arm out and shook Leo's arm quickly.

"How are you?" The boy continued nervously. Draco felt pity for his cousin, staying in a pretty much strange environment and immediately made a promise to watch his back just in case.

"I'm good thanks, you?" Draco replied.

"Can't complain" The boy chuckled, loosening up a bit after realising that Draco wasn't going to hex him into oblivion.

They stood there for a second later before Draco realised that the boy was struggling under five huge and heavy cases.

"Here, let me help" He offered, taking a case from the boy. He nearly collapsed under its weight and Draco stared in awe at his cousins' muscular arms. Draco kicked himself mentally. He got his wand out and levitated the suitcase up the stairs. As they walked up they heard the witches' voices getting quieter and quieter.

"Here's your room" Draco announced flinging the door open and setting the trunk on the clean four poster bed.

"The bathroom is through there" He stated pointing to a white door adjoining his room.

"Cheers Draco" Leo smiled. "Shall I unpack now or what?" He asked politely.

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea, my room is right next to yours, come in when you've finished if you want." He offered smiling reassuringly.

Draco walked out of the room, closing the door as he went and slipped into his room quietly. He looked around at his bedroom and cleaned it quickly hiding the clutter under the spacious bed. He cast a quick spell to dust the many photo frames adorning the chest-of-drawers which took about five minutes. He walked over to them and looked at them, smiling and waving.

There was one of his parents, one of him and the quidditch team, and some of him with his friends, the nearest one was the most recent and if truth be told, his personal favourite. It was him with three of his newer friends; Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. It had been taken last week in his garden, when he had invited them over as a thank you, and an apology for treating them so badly over the years. They had, of course, been wary at first but seeing he was genuine they loosened up and were now fairly good friends.

It was a beautiful sunny day in the photo and Harry and Ron were laughing and playing quidditch in the background. Hermione however was stood in the foreground with her arm around Draco's' shoulders. He watched the picture. Harry threw the quaffle to Ron. Ron caught it and laughed as he sped past Harry and out of the picture. His eyes flew to the foreground where he stood with Hermione. Every so often he would look across at her, their eyes would meet and they would smile at each other.

"She's pretty." Leo said from behind him. Draco jumped violently and spun around. He held his wand to Leos' face before registering who it was and taking a step back.

"Sorry, I forgot" Draco said shakily.

"It's ok I understand. I won't creep up on you again." Leo said looking shocked.

"Come on, before our mothers forget we exist" Draco laughed before leading Leo down the stairs to where Narcissa and Amber were sat reminiscing.

They sat down in a sofa opposite the witches and Draco looked at Leo.

"_This, is going to be an interesting year."_ He thought to himself.

**Love it? Hate it? Let me know, constructive criticism is most welcome (as is praise ;) :P)**


	2. Settling In

**Firstly, thank you for all the reviews! I was absolutely chuffed that this many people took the time to read and review my scribbling!**

**Special thanks to ****Pau-0803**** for offering some ideas for the relationship between Draco and the others, I just thought that because there has been this massive war and there is no longer such a divide between good and evil that Draco might be just as humble as his father towards the people that saved his life :) **

**Oh and also just FYI, Leo is based partly on a real person( and no, I don't stalk him :D) ;)**

**Okay here we go…**

**Chapter 2 – Settling in**

Leo wandered aimlessly around the manor. It had been a week since he had moved in and he still had no clue where he was.

"Leo, where are you going?" Draco asked sounding puzzled. He had been following his cousin down the stairs and through around the library, study and the kitchens where he had stopped to tie his shoelace.

"Sorry Draco I keep getting lost, this damn place is huge!" He said desperately. He straightened up and looked carefully at Draco.

"I'll draw you a map" Draco said rolling his eyes.

"Cheers, did you hear from the headmistress?" Leo asked nervously.

"_Why the hell does he always sound so worried_?" Draco pondered before looking his cousin straight in his handsome eyes.

"Yeah, McGonagall said that you will be placed temporarily in Slytherin, which is the same house as me so we'll be together and I can look out for you a bit." Draco said smiling slightly.

"That's great, thanks Draco!" Leo replied brushing his raven black hair out of his ocean-blue eyes.

Draco subconsciously balled his fists and Leo watched them balefully for a minute before Draco realised what he was doing and how awkward the silence was.

"Err… have you packed ready for tomorrow?" Leo asked quietly flipping his hair out of his face again.

"Yeah." Draco growled bluntly. "I mean yes I have, are you looking forward to it?" He said kindly as an afterthought.

Leo nodded.

"Is it a boy's school?" He asked apprehensively.

"No way" said Draco, grinning.

"Oh" replied Leo sounding slightly disappointed.

"What? Aren't you a woman's man or something?" Draco asked blatantly.

"Huh? Oh Merlin no I'm straight I just find girls a pain sometimes. They follow me around and send me love potions and stuff." He said digging his hands into his pockets and looking with his puppy-dog eyes at Draco.

"I bet they bloody do" He growled under his breath.

"Sorry?" Said Leo perplexed.

"Never mind, do you want me to help you pack the rest of your things?

"No, I only bought the necessities really and I only unpacked one case" He said.

"Well then, maybe you should be in Ravenclaw instead" Draco chuckled.

"What's Ravenclaw?"

"It's one of the four houses of Hogwarts, err, only the smart kids get put into there" Draco explained.

"Oh I get it" Leo nodded "What does Slytherin stand for then?" He asked keenly.

Draco's heart sank. Leo wouldn't think so highly of him when he found out that he had been placed into a house full of death-eater spawn. And for some reason that bothered him.

"Err, well mainly being cold and a bit heartless" He answered truthfully.

"Oh. And what do the other two stand for?" He said sounding less eager.

"Well, Gryffindor are the brave heroic type, and Hufflepuff is the house with people that don't fit any of the above" He finished at the end with a laugh. Leo grinned flashing his pearly teeth and he noticed that Draco stopped laughing abruptly and his steely eyes clouded over rather quickly.

"Come on" Draco started gruffly. He cleared his throat and cleared his face of emotion. "You can help me pack" He said smiling and leading Leo back upstairs.

*

"There we go, now I just have to find a safe place to put my pictures and stuff" Draco stated motioning to the cabinet adorned with photographs.

Leo looked over from his spot on the floor where he had been sitting on one of Dracos' vast cases of clothes to make it shut.

He stood up and walked over to the picture, Draco followed him and noticed his eyes lingered a little too long on the picture of himself, Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"She really is pretty" Leo blurted. He blushed crimson.

"Yeah she is" Draco thought aloud. He felt Leo's eyes on his face and turned to see him staring at him shrewdly.

"You like her a lot don't you" Leo said. It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah I suppose" Draco mumbled curtly.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Leo asked quietly looking back at the picture.

"No, it's kind of complicated." He replied sounding slightly more downcast.

"So she's single?" Leo asked curiously looking back at Hermione.

"Well yeah I suppose, but she has a lot of pretty boys that she calls friends" Draco replied. Leo noticed that he dug his hands into his pockets and turned away.

"I think maybe you should get to know her a bit better" Leo said reading his cousins expression.

"I know her very well. Well I think so anyway, the problem is that she doesn't know _me _very well, I don't think she believes I've changed." Draco said staring back at the picture. Leo looked at her again for a second before turning back to his cousin.

"That's a shame" He said softly.

"I know she'd like you" Draco admitted honestly. Leo looked taken aback.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because you're both a bit bookish. No offence, though" Draco responded truthfully. Leo seemed to ponder this for a minute.

"What is it?" Draco asked.

"Well, it's just weird, a bit surreal, knowing that a girl might like not for my looks, for just being me, you know?" Leo said his voice cracking slightly. Draco looked up at the boy he hardly knew and realised that they weren't so different after all.

*

"Draco, Leo! You're going to miss the train!" Narcissa Malfoy called up the stairs.

"Come on boys I can't apparate you to Hogmeade if you miss it!" Lucius added.

The two boys thudded down the stairs, their heavy trunks trailing in their wake.

They both had bags under their equally dazzling eyes and looked like they had only had about 3 hours sleep. Narcissa shook her head, her golden hair bouncing over her shoulders.

"Boys, why do you look so damn tired?" Lucius asked before his wife had the time to nag them.

"We stayed up and chatted for a bit" Draco croaked. Leo nodded sleepily.

"Well you can sleep when you get to school, you shouldn't have stayed up so late!" Narcissa reprimanded.

Leo yawned as he followed Draco and his mother and father out of the manor.

"Right Leo, hold my arm sweetheart" Narcissa said kindly regarding the boy who looked more than a little nervous.

"One….Two….Three…APPARATE!" Lucius yelled disappearing in a twirl of cloaks and robes.

Leo took a swift last look around before Narcissa swirled on the spot and took him with her.

They arrived a second later in a public toilet that had been locked from the outside.

Narcissa waved her hand over the doorframe and they heard a key turn on the other side. She pushed the door open and led them through to see the vast Kings Cross station. Leo looked around before he heard a whistle blow somewhere.

"Go on boys you're going to be late!" Narcissa shouted over the bustle of people.

Draco walked to his mother planted a kiss on her cheek and shook hands with his father and Leo was pulled into a warm hug by Narcissa. He smiled into her golden hair and she let him go sniffing slightly. He walked to Lucius and he patted him on the back.

"Good luck Leo, stick to Draco, he'll teach you the ways of Hogwarts" He said shaking his hand and smiling.

"Thank you both very much for having me" Leo said smiling politely.

"No problem m'boy, see you both at Christmas" Lucius said grinning in an identical way to his son.

The whistle sounded again and the boys looked at each other and jogged to the train.

They clambered aboard and walked through the corridors looking for and empty compartment. Draco began to wonder who he would be friends with now that all but Blaise Zabini and Pansy were dead out of his old friends.

"Ronald, if Crookshanks wants to be let out on the journey then I'll let him!" A girl's voice carried through the train. Draco kept leading his cousin through the train toward the voices and finally three familiar faces came into view.

"Hermione he cut my arm to ribbons when I tried to take his bowl away yesterday!" Ronald Weasley replied heatedly.

"Ron, Hermione healed you in less that a minute, I wouldn't complain if I were you, mate" Harry Potter chuckled.

"Merlin Draco, is that Harry Potter?!" Leo whispered excitedly in his ear.

"Yeah, he's the one playing Quidditch in the picture.

The three people, still arguing, slid back the door of an empty compartment and walked in shutting it neatly behind them.

"Come on, they'll let us share hopefully" Draco said positively. Leo followed Draco to the door of the carriage and watched hid cousin knock and wave through the glass.

He slid back the door.

"Hello Potter, Weasley, Granger" Draco said with a trace of a smile.

"Hi Draco" Harry Potter said easily looking up from his trunk, which he was zipping up.

"Hey Malfoy" Ron said. He had let the past stay in the past and was grateful for Draco's many apologies. Both he and Draco, however, still only used the others last names.

"Morning Draco" Hermione said without looking up from her cat's cage. She was pushing little pieces of ham through the bars and a loud purring was emitting from it.

"Can we share your compartment?" Draco asked the room.

"Sure, come in, did you go and see the match the other day?" Ron asked excitedly, still not noticing the boy stood behind Draco. Hermione on the other hand, had.

"What do you mean 'we'" She asked. "Because Pansy Parkinson is _not_ coming in here with you" She added sternly.

"No, not her" Draco said silkily. "_This_ is my cousin Leo." He finished before sitting down next to Ron and entering a whirlwind conversation about the previous Quidditch match.

Leo stood in the doorway looking uneasy. If truth be told, he was tremendously star-struck at being in a compartment with the 'Golden Trio' as they were widely known.

"Hello Leo" Harry said, standing up and shaking the boys' hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you" Leo said beaming at the heroic boy.

"He's _your_ cousin?" Hermione asked Draco sarcastically. Draco laughed.

"He's not much of a Slytherin, he should probably be in with your lot" Draco said smiling at his cousin.

"Come and sit down Leo" Hermione said kindly patting the seat beside her. Ron and Draco continued their conversation, although he kept watching Hermione furtively.

"So" Said the girl from the picture, who Leo now recognised as Hermione Granger.

"Is Italy nice this time of year?" She asked smiling.

Leo was taken aback – he had heard she was the smartest witch of her age, but he had not realised how smart that actually was.

"Yeah…how did you know I live in Italy?" He asked completely baffled.

"Well, there's your amazing tan" She started smiling at him. "And there's also the fact that you are wearing the most famous wizard-designed shoes in existence, which you can only buy in Italy." She finished matter-of-factly.

Leo's jaw could have actually dropped. She beckoned him closer, unaware of Draco's watchful eyes on him.

"Not really, Draco told me you were coming to stay. I was the only one who remembered" She whispered in his ear.

A tingly feeling shot straight to his feet.

He laughed and when he looked at her and took in her melty-brown eyes and chestnut coloured curly hair set around the clear face and small soft-looking lips he felt the tingly feeling again and knew he liked this girl, a lot.


	3. Hogwarts

Thank you all so much for the reviews firstly! There are some things I didn't make clear – I'm really sorry, **BloodyNessyZabini**, Leo was not born in Italy, therefore he is not natively Italian, but he has lived there since he was 11. This is why I do not spell it Léo, since he was born and named in England. Another reason for his name being spelt like the Zodiac sign will become clearer in the story although some of you Smarty-pants' out there may already have made the connection :P

Great thanks to you though for pointing it out.

**Also, You are all soooo sweet for taking the time to review :D ThankYou!!**

Okay here goes… Enjoy :P

**Chapter 3 – Hogwarts**

Hermione smiled. She and Leo were chatting about books they had known and loved throughout the train journey while Draco gave a play-by-play version of the England V Germany Quidditch match to Ron and Harry. It turned out that Leo was an extremely intelligent, friendly but shy boy and she found she got on with him very well and already felt he was opening up a bit more. He had already had an animated discussion with her about how much he liked reading _"Hogwarts, a History" _and when she had asked, he had told her what it was like to be in Italy while a war was raging in Britain.

"-and then Smith passed to Brown, who missed the Quaffle so the point went to Gerschleich, who was the nearest opposition player" Leo heard Draco explain to Harry and Ron.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry and Ron, who hung on every word of this, and Leo noticed how she pretended to be fed up with the boys quite a lot, but still evidently loved them both.

"So, what subjects did you choose to take?" Leo asked Hermione over the boys. Her honey-eyes flew back to him and he felt somewhat calmed for having her attention again. His cousin seemed to have forgotten he was starting a new school and he was desperately clinging to the curly-haired friendly heroine.

"Well I didn't actually get to choose until quite recently, what with the war and everything" She started smiling kindly at him. "So I took Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Arithmancy, Astronomy, Defence against the Dark Arts and History of Magic" She finished, counting the subjects off her fingers.

Leo laughed and when Hermione looked curiously at him he spoke up.

"I took exactly the same lessons as you, apart from Arithmancy. I took Divination instead"

Hermione chuckled lightly. She jerked her thumb towards Ron and Harry.

"You'll be in with these two then, they took it too" She said.

Ron and Draco were deep in conversation, whilst Harry sat in the middle, his head flipping back between the two conversations as if he were watching a fast tennis match.

He looked their way when he saw Hermione point at him and Ron. She sure was getting along well with the new boy. He seemed nice, Harry thought. He was quiet and polite, but he was evidently going to be good company and he had the air of fun about him, all they had to do was encourage him not to be so shy around them.

After 10 minutes of chatting, Ron and Draco were getting more and more excited by the match and Harry was slipping in and out of his deep thoughts, Hermione stood up.

"We're nearly there boys; we should probably change into our robes." She said lifting her trunk down from above the seat.

Thankfully Leo had gone with Draco and Narcissa to be fitted out for robes, since Draco's (Much to the blonde boy's annoyance) were much too small. They changed quickly and Ron went walkabouts around the train in search of the woman with the food trolley. He returned after a short while, his arms full of snacks.

They shared the nibbles and Leo told the others how Chocolate Frogs were not frogs in Italy, but rabbits. The others found this extremely weird and marvelled at the landscape for the last couple of minutes before the train pulled into the station.

Leo helped Hermione grab her trunk back from atop the seat and they climbed off the train in single file, girls in the corridor (much to Ron, Harry and Draco's irritation) openly gazed fixatedly at Leo, who blushed furiously and followed his cousin and his friends toward the thestrel-drawn carriages a little quicker.

"Can you see them?" Hermione asked softly from beside him whilst the boys boarded the carriage. Leo looked at her; she was inches away so no one else could hear.

"Yes" He replied quietly. He shuffled his feet. "My Father was killed when I was in my Second year." He continued. Hermione patted his arm gently.

"I'm sorry, Leo" She said genuinely. She led him to the carriage and they got in and began the slow and bumpy journey to the castle, Ron complaining of hunger all the way.

*

The five of them entered the Great Hall silently. Leo stuck close to Draco like Lucius had advised him to. Everyone except Leo stopped suddenly. The four house tables were gone, replaced by one large, long table where everyone sat. It was decorated in the colours of the four houses and everybody seemed slightly shocked except Leo, and Hermione who recovered relatively quickly.

"Hermione, what's goin' on?" Ron asked.

"The four houses have been replaced by one table, to show unity I expect" She said matter-of-factly.

"Well done Granger, never miss a trick, do you?" Said a deep voice from behind them.

They all turned around together and relaxed. It seemed they were all a bit jumpy.

"Blaise! How are you?!" Draco yelped shaking the boy by the hand eagerly. The girl standing next to Blaise Zabini coughed quietly, drawing everyone's attention.

"Hey Draco! Potter, Weasley, Granger_._ Who's this?" Pansy Parkinson nodded at each of them with a small smile. Draco brought Leo forward to introduce to Pansy.

He could almost hear her saying 'wow' in her head. Draco scowled slightly. He didn't love Pansy the way she loved him, but he didn't particularly want her to fancy Leo.

"You coming with us? We're going to talk to Pucey before the first years get here." Blaise asked Draco and Leo. Draco looked at Ron, Harry and Hermione. Ron was tugging Hermione's sleeve and complaining about being on his feet too long.

"Yeah Malfoy go on, we'll meet up with you later, yeah?" Harry said as Hermione and Ron went to sit down, uttering their goodbyes to the Slytherins.

"See you later Leo!" Hermione called from the table. Leo smiled and waved at the three of them, before following his cousin and his friends to sit opposite them at the wide table next to the boy named Adrian Pucey.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were engrossed in conversation and only dropped their voices to a whisper as the first years were being sorted. They only stopped completely when Headmistress McGonagall stood up and spoke.

"Good evening students. I trust you arrive safe and well, I will name the Head Boy and Girl after dinner as I expect you are all hungry…"

"Damn right!" Ron said loudly, causing the people nearest to them to turn and laugh quietly.

"_Thank you_ Mr Weasley" The Headmistress said, the corners of her mouth turning upwards. "As I was saying, it was a busy holiday and I only managed to send out the Prefect letters. Head Girl and Boy will be named after the food. Enjoy!" The headmistress finished and sat down. The food appeared on the plates by magic and people began tucking in. Leo didn't look surprised, Harry thought, although on the train he thought he heard Hermione talk about _Hogwarts, a History_.

Everyone ate as much as they could before the main course disappeared, to be replaced by Treacle Tart, Pumpkin cakes and Sticky Toffee Pudding. After a while though, this disappeared too.

"May I have your attention please!" Professor McGonagall stared once more. "Thank you. Now, without further ado, please come forward to receive your badges, the Head Girl is…-"

Ron chuckled and leaned toward Harry.

"Three guesses who it is" He laughed quietly. Harry smiled back.

"Hermione, Hermione or maybe…Hermione?" He laughed. Hermione turned around and tried to look stern but she too began to smile at the faith the boys had in her. Draco watched them beadily, much to the annoyance of Pansy.

"Draco" She crooned. "Do you think it'll be me?" Draco tried not to laugh.

"I doubt it Pans. Sorry to burst your bubble" He smirked before looking back at the Headmistress.

"…Hermione Granger of Gryffindor!" McGonagall said, beaming with pride for her top student.

Hermione looked slightly shocked. Harry patted her on the back lovingly and Ron slipped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the cheek shyly.

Draco smiled, happy for her and ignoring the kiss between friends. Everyone clapped loudly, she had become far more popular, not that she wasn't before, especially among the Slytherins. It seemed everyone was grateful to the 'Golden Trio'.

Hermione stood after a minute of clapping and walked shakily to the front, blushing pink and smiling. She stood at the front and saw Leo, Draco, Harry, Ron and Blaise still clapping. Pansy looked sulky for some reason, but when their eyes met she flashed Hermione a smile.

"Congratulations 'ermione. I knew you would do it!" Hagrid shouted from the teachers table. He was mopping his beetle-black eyes and beaming at her. She smiled and Professor McGonagall pinned the badge to her chest which provoked more clapped and cheering.

She quickly returned to her seat flushing deeper pink. Draco and Leo flashed identical smiles at her and she laughed at how similar they looked, apart from the height difference, tan and hair colour.

"Congratulations to you, Miss Granger." McGonagall said still beaming. "And…the Head Boy is…" Everyone waited, holding their breaths. Everyone knew it could not be Harry or Ron, for they had asked specifically not to be, so there was a whole number of candidates for the job.

"Draco Malfoy, for showing the courage to work secretly for the Light side alongside Severus Snape" Professor McGonagall added it after his name, just to publicise that he and his family weren't entirely bad.

Draco was dumbstruck. He thought it would have been some Gryffindor or possibly Blaise. Pansy looked tearful; he did not know whether it was out of shock, joy or jealousy. He stood and walked to the front, greeted by clapping and smiles. As he reached the front he turned to see Hermione looking equally as shocked, but smiling and clapping as well.

He smiled, feeling completely elated as the badge was pinned to his chest. He walked back to his seat next to Leo, who clapped him on the back heartily.

_This year was going to be the best yet,_ Draco thought. _Living with Hermione could only make her feel the same way….right?_

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	4. Serpent and Lioness

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**Serpent and Lioness**

"Well it could be worse Hermione" Harry smiled at her as the other students piled out after the Feast.

"Yeah, tell us if he has any weird habits won't you?" Ron added smirking playfully. Hermione laughed as they all made their way across the hall to the other side of the huge table, where Draco was surrounded by Slytherins patting him on the back and congratulating him.

"Well done Drakie" Pansy simpered kissing him on both cheeks and once on the lips. Leo laughed at his expression as his cousin turned around with small crimson lip prints all over his face. Ron ad Harry sniggered. Hermione tutted.

"Don't laugh at her, it's not her fault she likes him!" She hissed huffily to the two boys. They rolled their eyes at each other and continued toward the Slytherins.

"Congrats Ferrety" Ron grinned. Harry nodded.

"Cheers Weaslebee" Draco said smiling.

"Well done Hermione" Leo said quietly from beside his cousin. He was smiling coolly and watching her through his intense blue eyes. Hermione had to stop herself from swooning.

Ron and Harry chatted to Blaise and Pansy, while Theodore Nott and Adrian Pucey walked away, after greeting the three Gryffindors.

"No rest for the wicked, eh Granger?" Draco said playfully.

"Speak for yourself Malfoy." Hermione laughed lightly. "Although I think you should go and talk to Pansy" She added watching the glum-looking girl who had been gazing devotedly at Draco a second ago.

"Why?" Draco asked as Leo wandered off to inspect a nearby suit of armour, leaving the Slytherin and Gryffindor alone together, not far from Pansy, Blaise and her best friends.

"Merlin, boys can be so thick" Hermione said rolling her eyes and making to walk off. Draco grabbed her wrist and tugged her back to him. Pansy looked horrified and turned back to the others as she felt tears appear in her eyes.

_Draco was touching Hermione. Hermione Granger, the one his Father used to make him taunt and insult. The girl who had blossomed into a blushing flower, the girl most boys secretly were infatuated with, and the one who Draco was undoubtedly lusting over too. _Pansy thought glumly as she and the others bade the Head Girl and Boy goodnight.

*

Draco and Hermione stood uncomfortably in each others company, waiting for the Headmistress to finally tell them where their shared dorm was. Leo had finished inspecting the hall, and was impressed. He was just walking back over to them, examining everything on the way, especially the enchanted sky, which was aglow with a cloudless sky full of stars.

"_I'm_ not thick!" Draco said indignantly once the others, including Leo, Blaise and Pansy had made their way to bed.

"And why on earth should I be talking to Pansy more?" He added completely baffled.

"Because she fancies you! Isn't it obvious?" Hermione said sounding almost annoyed at his ignorance. Draco relaxed, much to Hermione's irritation.

"Oh, I know _that" _He said rolling his eyes.

"So…? What are you going to do about it?!" Hermione nagged persistently.

"Nothing" Draco replied simply as he sat down on one of the benches. Hermione tapped her foot before sitting down next to him and folding her arms across her chest.

"What do you mean nothing? You're just going to let her feel heartbroken and rejected and unrequited?!" Hermione asked offended and upset on Pansy's behalf. The two had never been friends but she knew they would probably get closer over the coming year.

"Well, I don't like her back in that way, I think it would be even crueler to go out with her and not have my heart in it don't you?" Draco argued fairly. "I can't say I haven't thought about it…but I can't help it if I don't love her anything more than as a friend can I?" He added as an afterthought.

"No, but you should tell her how you feel! It's not fair to drag her along either is it?!" Hermione said a little more patiently.

"Merlin Granger, I've been your friend for about two minutes and you already nag me more than Ron and Harry put together" Draco laughed ducking out from her slap. She laughed reluctantly and they didn't hear the Headmistress until she spoke.

"Good Evening Draco, Hermione. Sorry for keeping you" McGonagall said calmly from beside them. They both shot up, pulling their wands from their pockets.

"Sorry Professor, still a bit jumpy" Hermione said lowering her wand. Draco followed suit.

"It's perfectly alright." McGonagall said understandingly. "Follow me please" She said leading them toward the entrance hall. They walked up to the third floor in near silence and the Headmistress finally stopped outside a portrait. Hermione and Draco stopped, looking at it curiously.

The portrait showed a sunny field. A lioness wearing a tiara was in the foreground, frolicking with a few lions and one with dark fur that she was nuzzling playfully. A tree in the foreground provided shade for the lions and in it sat two sulking serpents. The male serpent was wearing a crown too and looked not sly but annoyed and almost confused. Draco didn't know why, but this portrait bothered him. McGonagall watched the two students.

"You will have to give this portrait a password. I will be back in the morning to give you a full meeting with the Prefects and a list of duties and privileges. Also tomorrow will be a ceremony of respect for the brave witches and wizards who gave their lives in the War" She said before curtly nodding at both of them and walking back down the corridor at a swift pace.

Draco and Hermione looked at each other.

"What shall we have as the password then?" Draco asked looking back at the portrait.

"I don't know. We both like potions…how about something potion-related?" Hermione suggested.

"Okay…what about…" He paused, thinking. "Amortentia?" He offered. He saw Hermione blush.

"What?" He asked.

"Amortentia is a love potion" Hermione said grinning. Draco looked embarrassed.

"Err…okay, well does it matter?" He asked. He knew it was a love potion, he was just wondering if she would accept it.

"No, I suppose not" Hermione sighed. She looked at the portrait and called the lioness.

Draco noticed that the eyes of the lioness looked familiar before realising with a jolt that they reminded him of Hermione.

"Hello, I'm Hermione and this is Draco, we're the new Heads" She said gesturing towards herself and Draco. The lioness nodded and smiled a wise and strangely familiar smile.

"I know who you are Miss Granger, Mr Malfoy" The lioness said. Her voice was smooth and knowing with a hint of a happy purr. "Have you decided on a password?" She asked. Her male friends in the background were missing her, it was obvious and the darker male looked lonely. The male serpent watched the lion beadily.

"Yes, we'd like it to be Amorentia" Hermione asked nervously. The lioness smiled, fluttering her long eyelashes over her pretty brown eyes.

"As you wish" She said before swinging the portrait open for them. Hermione thanked her and Draco nodded.

"Go on in Hermione, I'll be one minute." He said letting her pass him. The lioness stood prettily, watching him curiously.

"Did you want anything Mr Malfoy?" The lioness asked.

"Yes actually. Why is the snake all alone?" He asked nodding at the serpent. The lioness looked over at him sadly. She turned back to Draco and smiled half-heartedly.

"He's sad because you're sad. He has been enchanted to feel how you feel. And what's going on in you life as well, in case you miss something" She said. Draco nodded.

"You feel distant from your friends, though your family have been supportive and you have new friends that will always be there for you" She added smiling more warmly. The lions in the background were pining for her; it seemed they needed her more than ever.

"Thank you" Draco said smiling back. "But, who do you represent?" He asked suddenly.

The lioness looked at him thoughtfully.

"I think you already know that, Mister Malfoy. Goodnight" She replied secretively before padding away to nuzzle the male lions once more.

*

"Heavens, Draco look at it in here!" Hermione shrieked as he came through the portrait. It swung shut to reveal a medium-sized room. It had in the centre a marble fireplace. In front of it was a black and silver plush sofa. Either side of it were two chairs. One was Red with gold trimming and the other was green with silver trimming. The walls were decorated in a neutral pale gold. The floor was covered in white marble flagstones. There was a fluffy white rug in front of the fire, which lay two cats, the ginger tabby Crookshanks and an impeccably clean white cat which she did not recognise. Draco looked around and nodded.

"Nice. Oh, here you are Gem!" Draco yelped spotting the white female cat snuggled up to the tough looking ginger male.

"Gem?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"It's short for Gemini." Draco replied petting both cats lightly on the head. They purred as the Head boy sat down on the sofa.

"God, I'm so tired!" he exclaimed sinking back into the plush settee.

"Go to bed then, I am!" Hermione said before patting Crookshanks and Gemini on the heads. "Night Malfoy" She yawned. She turned toward the golden door. It had a white plaque at the top with 'Head Girl' written in rounded red letters.

"Goodnight Granger" Draco yawned wearily sinking deeper into the sofa.

Hermione shut the door and turned around to see a large red and gold coloured room. She gasped. There was a full length mirror taking up the far wall and a marble fireplace against another wall. A four poster with white sheets stood proudly against the third wall and a dressing table stood by the door with all of her cosmetics already lined up. Hermione walked all around the room before examining her hair in the mirror. She suddenly stopped and started looking around the room again. Where on earth was her trunk?

She spotted hinges on one side of the mirror and she felt the opposite side. She dug her nails in between the wall and mirror and pulled. The mirror slid open easily and she discovered a walk-in wardrobe, complete with all of her things. At one side of the walk-in wardrobe was a wall of shelves which stored her books and trunk. Hermione stepped out and looked around in awe at the huge room again.

She could definitely get used to this.


	5. Remembrance

**Thanks to all reviewers I really do appreciate it! :) This chappie is dedicated to you all! X I know the characters are all a bit OOC but I needed to tweak them a little, and also, there are those of you who think this might be going a little fast, but I don't want it to drag.**

**Remembrance**

Hermione woke early the next morning, from a nice long sleep in her comfortable new bed. She sat up, rubbed her eyes and picked her wand up from her bedside table. Her bare feet hit the soft, fluffy carpet and she smiled. She stood up, walked to the dressing table and waved her wand around her hair. It automatically turned from a messy bundle, into soft delicate curls that tumbled down her back in ringlets. She grinned at her reflection in the mirror and picked up some sleekeazy gel from the table, she rubbed a small amount between her palms and ran them through her chocolate hair. She then picked up some blush and dabbed her cheeks with the brush, followed by mascara which she combed carefully through her eyelashes. She followed that with a dusting of very light pink eyeshadow. She stood up when she was finished and crossed the room to the door. She opened it and appeared in the doorway. Draco Malfoy, who was sprawled untidily on the silver and green chaise lounge, looked up from his 'Daily Prophet' paper. His heart fluttered beneath his muggle clothes. She looked beautiful, even when she was still in pyjamas.

"Feet off the table, Malfoy!" She grumbled at him. He jumped.

"Hello to you too, little Miss Grumpy" He rolled his eyes, but put his feet on the floor.

"Where are you going?" He asked as she headed towards the bathroom. She turned back towards him, rolling her own eyes.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going into my bathroom" She said impatiently. Draco looked back to his paper, sniggering. Hermione narrowed her eyes.

"What. What is it?" She said wearily, rubbing her temples. Malfoy carefully laid aside his paper, slowly and deliberately. She crossed her arms angrily and began tapping her foot subconsciously.

"Didn't you work it out? We have to share a bathroom." Draco smirked. Hermione glared.

"How long have you known?! I cannot believe you're actually happy about this!" She shot at him, the words tumbling out of her mouth in annoyance. He smirked.

"I've known since this morning, when I realised there was only one bathroom, and I'm happy because... well, see for yourself." He invited, still smiling. She continued to scowl at him, but her hand, which was on the doorknob, twisted slightly. She pushed and walked in, closing the door behind her. At first, she thought she had walked into the wrong room. The bathroom was_ huge._ It was at least twice the size of the old prefect bathroom, and nearly half as wide. Against one wall was a toilet and sink and right in the middle of the bathroom was a bath in the floor the size of a large swimming pool. It was at least 20 feet length to length and 10 feet width to width. Hermione gasped.

"Oh my God Draco!!" She screamed, her voice bouncing off the marble walls. She opened the door and nearly ran headlong into him, as he was crossing the Head common room towards the back, where a small kitchenette stood. It had wooden sideboards and a wizard coffee machine, she was glad to see. She grabbed him hysterically by the arm and he stared at her with amusement and another emotion she could not place. He beamed a dazzling smile, identical to Leo's, she thought nearly swooning at the thought.

"It's great isn't it?" He laughed. She let go of his arm hurriedly and they walked towards the kitchenette together. Hermione babbled excitedly about the swimming-pool-sized bath while Draco poured them both a cup of coffee. They sat down in their respective chairs and drank in near-silence. Soon, Hermione rose from the table, setting down her mug in the sink, which was scrubbing itself soon by magic.

"Well, I'm going to have a bath." She said, heading towards her dorm.

"No way Granger." Draco said quickly. "I saw it first" He added childishly. Hermione scowled.

"Don't give me that crap Draco, you're dressed, I'm not" She said, suddenly realising with a blush that she was still in her pyjamas. Malfoy smirked, though not with malice anymore like the old days.

"Okay." He said, "I'll make a deal with you." Whoever gets to the bathroom first, gets the first bath." He said folding his arms.

"Deal. Starting point at the kitchenette." Hermione said shaking his outstretched hand. They both walked to the kitchenette.

"On your mark, get set, GO" Draco yelled, pelting across the room. Hermione stood stationary and with a flick of her wand, she immobilized Draco. He stood still on the spot, as if he had been bound and gagged, writhing in irritation and disbelief. Hermione walked calmly past him towards the bathroom, accio-d her clothes and walked in, giving him a small wave as she shut the door behind her, smirking to herself like a true Slytherin.

*

Hermione climbed carefully out of the pool-sized bath and reached for her towel. Drying herself off, she reached for the black dress she had picked out for the day. It was plain but pretty, made of some sort of silk with lace sleeves. As she put it on, she noticed in the mirror above the sink how it clung to her, exactly the right size. It fell to the floor and was not cut too short – it was a remembrance service she was attending, not a tarts and vicars party. She slipped on some black small heels and opened the door, revealing the common room. She noticed Draco on the sofa, though he didn't hear her open the door. He was staring at the wall, his arms crossed – the charm had worn off. He soon noticed her trying to sneak to her dorm and opened his mouth to yell at her. What came out was a strangled gasp. Hermione turned on her heel to look at him, ashamed. When she saw him staring at her though, she frowned.

"Have you never seen a girl in a dress before Malfoy?" She asked, amused. He just stared.

"Put your eyes back in your head and go and get ready, the remembrance service is in half an hour and I bet it takes that long just to do your hair." She sniggered, turning to leave again.

Draco scowled after her, but got up and went to his room. Hermione opened the door to her room and found the hat that matched her outfit- the kind muggles wore to funerals – and shut the door behind her, perching it on her curly-haired head and walking to stand in front of the fireplace. Malfoy emerged five minutes later wearing a suit and tie. She looked him up and down and nodded.

"Very nice" She said turning back to the fire. "Have you done your hair?" She giggled, warming her hands over the fire before pulling a pair of lace black gloves over them.

"Laugh all you want Granger, I bet Harry takes twice as long getting it to look so windswept" Draco laughed to himself.

Hermione smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"Actually its au natural, he just gets out of bed like it." Hermione said, picking up the small black bag that matched her dress. She swung it over her shoulder and made for the door.

"What are you doing Granger? The service isn't for another 20 minutes – are you that obsessed with punctuality?" He asked incredulously. Hermione rolled her eyes at him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I have to go and meet Harry and Ron, silly." She said as if he was a small child. "Are you going to come with me?" She asked. "You could meet Leo, and Zabini and Parkinson." She added. Draco sighed but followed her out the door and along the corridor towards the Great Hall, where Harry, Leo and Ron stood waiting, a few feet away from Blaise and Pansy. They made their way across the hall, Ron and Harry staring openly.

"You look good 'Mione" Harry commented. Ron nodded, not wanting to speak. Leo also nodded, smiling calmly. Harry, Ron, Leo and Blaise were all dressed in suits, and Pansy wore a simple dress not unlike Hermione's, except shorter and lower cut by a small amount. Draco greeted them all too, before joking about the inches of bare sock at the end of Ron's extra-extra long trousers, which Harry laughed at. Hermione stood by Ron, becoming shy around Leo's intense blue eyes fixed on her, and Pansy's baleful glances. Draco hugged Pansy quickly, which she loved and instantly launched into a conversation about Hermione's beautiful dress.

"It's absolutely fabulous Hermione, is it designer?" The girl asked her, excitedly. Hermione gave a tinkling laugh.

"I wish Pansy." She said wistfully. "No, it's a high street, I got it for my birthday from my parents" She said smiling. Pansy nodded, obviously impressed with muggle fashion-sense. Ron slipped his arm around Hermione's waist and drew her in, warming her cold body while they waited, apparently for Ginny and Luna. Hermione pulled gently out of Ron's arms so as not to crease her dress and his suit, and when he looked upset, she grabbed his hand and smiled at him. Her squeezed it and swung their entwined hands back and forth nonchalantly. In response to this, Draco automatically grabbed Pansy around the waist and drew her into him. She flushed pink and took his hands within her own, beaming up at him. He knew it was wrong to use her in this way, but he had no other choice.

"Are you two actually going out then?"

Draco tore his eyes from Hermione, not realising he was staring at her, to face Harry, whose eyes were on him.

"Who, us?" Draco spluttered almost rudely.

Pansy looked up at him, dropping his hands.

"Of course you Malfoy, pay attention!" Hermione chastised half-heartedly before Harry could reply.

Leo laughed at his cousin's expression. Draco pulled his arm from around Pansy rather quickly.

"No, we aren't" He said a little too quickly.

Pansy stared at a column past Hermione, her eyes glazed over. Her arms were loosely crossed over her chest.

"Unfortunately" Draco added, trying to spare her feelings. Hermione glared at him for his lack of tact.

Hermione pulled out of Ron's hands gently and walked to Pansy. The girl shot her a bewildered look before Hermione looped her arm through Pansy's.

"We'll go and find Gin." Hermione explained. "They're taking _ages_" She added before trotting off, Pansy in her wake. Harry and Ron looked at each other, confused.

Hermione taking Pansy under her wing – What was the world coming to?

*

"Where are you taking me Hermione?" Pansy asked as Hermione clip-clopped up a flight of stairs.

"We're just going to find Gin" The Head Girl replied. Pansy stopped walking and shook her head.

"I'm not thick Hermione, contrary to popular belief" Pansy said slightly bitterly, folding her arms.

"I never said you were." Hermione replied, she did not stop walking. A minute later when Hermione rounded a corner, she heard Pansy's heels clicking after her.

"Granger!" She screeched, reverting to using her surname.

"Parkinson" Hermione replied calmly.

"Come on, I know we aren't friends, maybe we never will be, but I thought we were past all this crap!" Pansy said exasperatedly. Hermione stopped walking at last and turned to her. Hermione exhaled, her shoulders sagging.

"I'm sorry Pansy." Hermione sighed. "I just wanted to talk to you." She admitted.

"About what?" Pansy asked curiously.

"Well, I just wanted to know how you really feel about Draco" Hermione said. The two witches began walking again, slower this time, Hermione gazing at Pansy, Pansy looking down at the floor as she trotted along.

"Well, I like him. A lot" She said. "More than as a friend; more than he likes me" She added, as if worried she had not made herself clear. Hermione nodded in an understanding way.

"You know, I think he would grow to like you the same way if you had a makeover maybe. Not like makeup and stuff, but a change of wardrobe or hairstyle of something. Nothing huge" Hermione explained. Pansy nodded thoughtfully as they reached the end of a corridor, Pansy pushed open the door and walked through. They began climbing steps again.

"I know what you mean I think. Could you help me with it though?" She asked, her green eyes wide and hopeful.

"I…er..yes…yes okay." Hermione spluttered, surprised. Pansy smiled in a small way.

"Thanks" She beamed as they reached the top of the stairs. Hermione smiled back as they stood outside the common room. Hermione caught the eye of the Fat Lady, who was clothed in black from head to toe. She bowed to Hermione slightly. Hermione gave a grim smile.

"Um, can I come in? I don't know the password" Hermione said. The Fat Lady looked her up and down once, and then spoke.

"I think it's safe. With You-Know-Who gone there is no harm to it." She explained, swinging open to reveal the Gryffindor Common room. Pansy hesitated but Hermione ushered her in. The room was near-empty apart from Ginny Weasley and a few younger students scattered around. Ginny was fixing her hair in front of a mirror that stood in front of the mantelpiece. Pansy gazed around while Hermione glided over to Ginny.

"Morning Gin." She said. Ginny, who saw Hermione approaching in the mirror turned to face her. Her hair was pulled out of her face, save for a few strands, and piled high on her head. She was in a black pencil skirt and matching jacket and reminded Hermione of a stylish Ministry worker. Her face was dusted with a light powder, her eyelashes twirled and curled and her lips glistened. As did her eyes. Hermione pulled the girl she'd always seen as her sister into her arms and rubbed her back, allowing tears to form in her own eyes. She sniffed after a minute and they broke apart. Hermione flung her arm across Ginny's shoulders as the three of them trotted back downstairs, Ginny and Pansy making polite small-talk to each other. They arrived downstairs in a shorter time than it had taken to get upstairs it seemed, and Hermione withdrew her arm so Ginny could run to hug Harry. They each stood, shoulder to shoulder as Hermione and Pansy approached them and it felt quite intimidating. Luna had joined them and was having a quiet discussion with Ron, who was stood to her right. Her eyes travelled across the line of best friends, soon-to-be friends (Like Leo and Pansy) and people she neither was friends with or wasn't, like Malfoy and Blaise. Malfoy himself stood near the end, next to Leo who was on the end, looking uncomfortable and out of place. Hermione walked over to stand next to him, not seeing Draco's incredulous and irritated eyes on them. She looked slightly up to Leo's face and saw that he looked nervous too. She patted his arm lightly.

"Hope this isn't too awkward for you Leo." She said slightly apologetically, looking into his azure eyes.

"Its fine, I'm glad to be here. You've been crying haven't you?" He asked, making it somehow sound more of a statement than a question. Hermione nodded, hanging her head and willing tears not to appear in her eyes yet again as she thought of Fred, Tonks, Lupin, Colin…all the people who had been lost. Leo, sensing her upset, rubbed his warm tanned hand against her arm soothingly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean for you to be sadder than you already would be" He said, sounding startled. Draco looked on, though Blaise was trying to talk to him, boring holes in the back of Leo's head.

"I'm fine." She said to him. "Are we waiting for anyone else?" She asked of the group, raising her voice slightly.

"No, this is it" Said Harry after performing a quick head-count. Hermione nodded and raised her head. She squared her shoulders and straightened her back.

"Let's do this then." She said, clicking over to the Great Hall doorway. She pushed the door open and led the others through, her heart beating in her ears with anticipation.

*

"I ask you all to rise for two minutes silence for the loved ones lost in the Final Battle of Hogwarts." Said the minister for the memorial. Hermione's vision was clouded with tears, as were most peoples as she rose.

"It's okay 'Mione I've got you." Ron said from her left, clutching her to his chest as she sobbed openly against him. She felt his own tears dripping down his cheeks and heard Harry muttering soothing words to Ginny somewhere down the line of the group. Nobody spoke or even moved from there for at least 3 minutes before a sad muggle song Hermione recognised vaguely began playing. Everyone sat down in one body of motion and Hermione fell into Ron's lap. For once, Draco did not eye them with resentment, for he was feeling too awkward and mournful. Pansy gazed at her feet for the supposed two minutes, and upon feeling Blaise's fingers interlace with hers, she looked up at him and they sat down again, feeling too embarrassed to look at each other, but too lonely to break the comforting hand-holding. Soon, people began trailing out of the Great Hall, chattering dejectedly and quietly, most with red-rimmed eyes, and some sobbing into handkerchiefs.

The nine of them that had waited outside were the very last to leave, after Draco and Hermione had thanked the minister, Hermione sniffing. Draco patted her arm as they walked outside to join the others.

"Shall we go outside?" Ginny asked, mopping her eyes with a pink tissue. Hermione nodded.

"Do you want to come outside too?" Ron asked Draco, Blaise, Pansy and Leo, to general surprise. The four looked at each other and decided unanimously that it was a good idea.

"All right, yeah" Blaise replied for the outcast group of Slytherins. They traipsed out of the entrance hall they were standing in and out into the watery September sunshine and Harry and Ginny, who were in front, led them to the Whomping Willow. Ron, who was a few steps behind his sister and friend, levitated a twig from the leaf-strewn floor and disabled the tree. All nine of them found a spot under the tree, Pansy and Blaise having finally separated with much awkwardness. Ginny closed her eyes and rested her head against Harry's shoulder. Ron and Luna sat either side of them and Hermione sat next to Ron. Malfoy sat on her other side, next to Leo, who was engaged in a conversation with Blaise, who was in between him and Pansy. Pansy and Luna were talking somewhat awkwardly about autumn apparently, but apart from that, the Whomping Willow was silent for the first time in many years.

**A/N: Not happy with this chapter, bleh :( A bit depressing I know but the next chapter will be less sad and more light-hearted. Review :)**


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